The Wolf Inside
by Aella Rosewood
Summary: Masumi, Kakashi's childhood friend, has returned and at the perfect time. But Masumi isn't a normal ninja. Her special abilities give her advantages over her opponents they couldn't even imagine to have. Can Masumi teach Naruto enough to help him? And will Masumi and Kakashi get that finally push to further their relationship? *KakashixOC*
1. Chapter 1

A hooded figure approached the Leaf Village Gates with a black cape hiding their body and a blue scarf that covered the lower half of the figure's face. The stranger pulled down the scarf to reveal a female ninja. A girl with deep dark chocolate brown hair and blue eyes that could outshine the sky looked up at Kotetsu and Izumo with a smile and a red leaf ninja headband across her forehead. As she greeted them, her slightly longer than normal canines peaked out of her smile. After speaking to them a little bit she entered the gates.

"I guess I let it get a little too late to be returning home," she said with her black hood over her head still. The stores lights were all on and the city seemed to glow under the night sky. She took a big breath enjoying the air. She left the hood and cape on as she looked around town. She looked around and got a little irritated. "It seems I'm not the only one who's late," she slightly growled.

"Now who are you calling late? I've been waiting for three hours," a deep male voice said from above her. She looked up and smiled as her eyes followed the male figure jump down from a roof and land in front of her.

"Kakashi!" She beamed up at him before he hugged her tight.

"Masumi! I've missed you!" Kakashi said spinning them around.

Masumi giggled as he set her down. "The Village has grown a bit since I've left. It's amazing!"

"Yes it is, especially at night when all the shops are lite up." They both looked out at the town before beginning to walk somewhere.

"I guess it's time for me to meet the new Hokage," she said with sadness in her eyes. "I heard about the Third. I wish I could have been here to fight along everyone's side. When I got the news, I also received orders that I wasn't allowed to return unless of absolute necessity."

"I'm sorry you couldn't attend the funeral. We can visit tomorrow if you'd like," Kakashi suggested.

"I'd like that," Masumi smiled weakly at Kakashi. After a moment she pulled herself together again, "Well it's no time for tears. Time to meet this Legendary Tsunade!" She cheered up and they flash stepped to the Hokage's building. They walked up the stairs and Masumi knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called from behind the door. Kakashi opened the door, walked through, and held it open for Masumi. "And who is this?" The Fifth Hokage asked.

"I am Masumi, Lady Hokage," she bowed to Tsunade before facing her.

"Masumi," she turned to the woman next to her, which Masumi figured out was Shizune her companion. Shizune went the records, but turned back to the others.

"Last name?" she asked.

"I have no last name. Not anymore. My file is in the 'M' section," Masumi explained with a sigh.

"No last name? Oh, I think I remember reading that file because I found it so weird that there was no last name," Tsunade explained just before Shizune handed the Hokage Masumi's file.

"I was given permission for the Third Hokage to drop my last name completely. If you really, absolutely, must have a last name for me, just put Hatake," she said without a blink of her eye. Neither Kakashi nor Masumi stiffened, flinched, or looked surprised. Lady Tsunade and Shizune, however, were not so calm.

"WHAT?!" They yelled together.

"What?" Masumi shrugged, "I've been with Kakashi for most of my life. I've lived with him since I was little."

"HUH?!"

Kakashi leaned down to her ear. "Sumi, they are taking what you are saying wrong," he whispered lightly next to her using the nickname he gave her.

"…. OH! NO NO NO NO NO!" Masumi screamed holding up her hands and waving them in front of her. "Kakashi may be a perv, but not like that!"

Tsunade and Shizune let out a sigh. "I don't think I would live a second after hearing Kakashi had a girlfriend or something," Tsunade said with a laugh afterwards.

"Hey!" Kakashi said offended as he straightened up and slightly glared at Tsunade with his good eye.

There was another knock on the door, and without permission, a young boy with spiky blonde hair and a girl with short pink hair walked in.

"Naruto!" The girl hit the boy, Naruto, on the head. "You are supposed to wait for permission to come in!"

"Oh come on, Sakura. It's just Grandma Tsunade," Naruto said as he rubbed his head and walked up to Tsunade's desk with Sakura.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade," Sakura said as she turned towards their direction. All eyes were on the two teenagers.

"Well, I guess now would be a good as time as any to introduce you to my graduated students," Kakashi said turning to fully face them.

"HUH?! YOU FINALLY PICKED STUDENTS TO TEACH?!" Masumi yelled.

"Yes," Kakashi said as a drop of sweat went down his forward. "Anyways, this is Naruto and Sakura," he gestured towards the duo. "Guys," he said getting their full attention, "This is Masumi."

"Hey there," Naruto greeted with his hands placed behind his head as he stood their relaxed. Masumi sensed a huge amount of chakra in Naruto, and in one quick glance she saw the hidden chakra and seal of the Nine-tails.

"It's nice to meet you," Sakura greeted sweetly, but Masumi could tell she had a short-temper and was like a controlling mother. But underneath her personality, Masumi could see amazing chakra control, much like Tsunade-sama.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Masumi turned back to the Fifth Hokage. "The last letter I received was saying that I would have a mission waiting for me when I got back since I had just finished the current one."

"Ah yes," Tsunade opened her folder and her eyes widened for a second before going back to normal. "You are to be apart of Team Kakashi for the time being."

There were confused responses from some of the others. Kakashi's eyes widened and Masumi just bowed to the Hokage. "Yes, Milady."

"Does that mean she will be taking off her hood?" Kakashi asked with a hint of protectiveness. Tsunade held her hands in front of her mouth as her elbows rested on the desk. Shizune looked to Tsunade with a confused look, having not seen Masumi's file. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances.

"Kakashi," Masumi laid her hand on his arm gently. "They will be my teammates, even if it's for a short time, and she _is _the Hokage." Masumi smiled gently at him. She stepped back a little bit so everyone could see. She smiled for a moment, "Not many people have seen this," her smile turned dark, "and most of those people are dead for either betraying my trust or being my target. Just thought I'd let you know," she giggled with evil intent before returning back to normal. She put both of her hands up to her hood and slowly pushed her hood back. Two wolf ears slide out from underneath the fabric and popped up becoming alert and pointed forward. Everyone in the room gasped except Kakashi.

"EARS?!" Naruto and Sakura screamed together. Masumi giggled before taking off her cape and a dark chocolate brown wolf tail shook around for a second. "AND A TAIL?!"

"You know, you two are very loud," Masumi giggled.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" Naruto yelled. "ARE YOU LIKE ME?!"

"I'll answer you, as long as you stop yelling. My hearing is extremely strong and you are hurting my fluffy ears," Masumi said as she smiled weakly and held her hands over her eras.

"Oh sorry," Naruto said quietly.

"My name is Masumi. Once in every one hundred generations, a child is born with the qualities of the wolf. Only after a few months would the child grow and completely take the form of a wolf. The wolf form would be larger than normal with the mind of a human. The wolf was a symbol of servitude, because that child was then raised to serve and protect the people of the land. I will not explain my family and who they are, but they did not want their daughter to be that symbol. They called upon a high priestess to seal my powers away. However, it is not so easy to seal away 100 years worth of built up chakra. This red necklace I wear seals most I my power. The bits that escape are what show; my ears, tail, and canines." Sumi smiled to prove her point. "I am by no means like you, Naruto."

"Oh," Naruto said calmly.

"Alright, that's enough about the past. Let's get you home, Sumi," Kakashi said putting her cape back over her shoulders.

"Ah yes yes," Masumi giggled. "Let's go home."

"I'll finish up the paperwork and get it to you in the morning, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi said to the Hokage before turning to Naruto and Sakura. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Good night everyone," Sumi said with a smile as she slide her hood back over her ears and swung her cape over her tail before exiting the room with Kakashi.

They others waited for a moment before Naruto and Sakura turned to Tsunade, "Are they dating?!" They whisper yelled hoping Masumi wouldn't hear them.

"No, they are just childhood friends," Tsunade explained. "Now go. I have work to get done."


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Masumi woke up and took a shower before getting dressed in her usually clothes. When she was ready, she noticed Kakashi having a hard time with the unit list. She giggled and helped him out before grabbing her cloak and going with Kakashi. After turning in the paperwork, they made their way to meet the others.

"You're late," Naruto said as he stood next to Sakura.

"Finally, you're here…." Sakura said as this was the usual.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kakashi said. "This time it took longer than I thought to write up the documents for the new team."

"What he means to say is, he mixed up the papers this morning and couldn't figure out which one was right," Sumi held back a laugh.

"Today's our new team's first mission!" Naruto exclaimed. "Aren't you fired up?! You've always been like that, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Oh, come on. You're already annoying!" Sakura interjected. "It can't be helped. Kakashi-sensei's always had that look of disinterest!"

Masumi looked at Kakashi and could almost hear his thoughts of '_I'm starting to lose my dignity here.' _Sumi giggled at the three before looking up.

Above them a hawk, and when it cawed, Kakashi took notice to it. They both noted that it was a Hidden Sand messenger hawk. Masumi also took notice of how Naruto and Sakura ignored the bird.

And so, they made their way to the Hokage's office to receive their first mission as a new team. On the way, Naruto said how he was excited for a new mission and Sakura told him to accept it without complaint. While they were talking, someone from the Cipher Corps came running down the hall. Masumi and Kakashi both knew something was going on in the Sand. Masumi's ears twitched under her hood as her senses expanded and she listened to the things around her searching.

"Do you hear anything?" Kakashi asked in a small whisper to not alert the others.

In response, Masumi just barely shook her head 'no.' They then continued their way to see Lady Tsunade.

"Whaaat?! A guard for a gold buillion transport convoy?!" Naruto complained.

"Huh? You got a problem?!" Tsunade growled.

"That's totally a C-rank mission! I'll just have to say no thanks to a mission like that…" Everyone around seemed like they knew this was going to happen. Masumi held back her little giggles, but her tail wagged slightly in amusement.

"Naruto, you haven't matured mentally at all, have you?" Iruka asked.

"Naruto, I gave you an easier mission since this is more or less a comeback for you," Tsunade explained.

"I didn't ask for this!" Naruto growled.

Sakura grabbed his head and rubbed her visit against his skull, "I'm sorry, Master! I'll give him a good scolding later…."

"The details of the mission are written here," Tsunade said pushing the piece of paper forward.

"Right," Kakashi said stepping forward to take it.

"Geez, man. The old man, Third Hokage, was much more understanding," Naruto mumbled from under Sakura's fist.

"Huh? Did you say something?!" Lady Hokage growled.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Sakura said as she started to strangle Naruto.

'_Well then, I guess this will be my new normal. I'm not sure how I feel about it right now...'_ Masumi thought to herself.

"There's trouble… Fifth Hokage!" The woman from the Cipher Corps said running in.

"What's all the commotion?" Tsunade asked.

"We just received an emergency message from the Sand."

"The Sand…?" Naruto said.

"Did you say and emergency message?!" Tsunade asked.

"This is what we have deciphered," she said handing Tsunade-sama the piece of paper. She quickly read over it.

"What?!"

"Oh… my god!"

"It can't be…"

"Hey… what happened?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade looked at Naruto with a very serious expression. "The Kazekage of the hidden Sand has been taken by the members of the organization called the Akatsuki."

Gasps filled the room while Masumi's ears perked up in alarm. "Gaara… Those guys again, huh?" Naruto mumbled.

"We have more information concerning the Akatsuki. And so the hidden Sand has officially requested our help."

"Lady Tsunade, don't tell me you're going to have Team Kakashi…?!" Shizune interjected.

"This is a time of emergency. I can't be wasting time on personnel selection. Beside, we've got someone who's actually fought against the Akatsuki and a nina who will be able to track even the smallest scent."

"I understand that, but…"

"I will now issue Team Kakashi a new mission. go to the Village Hidden in the Sand immediately, find out what's going on and report back to the Leaf. After that, you will follow the orders of the Hidden Sand and provide them with backup!" Tsunade ordered.

Quickly, Team Kakashi packed their things and made their way to the gates of the Village. They gave their farewells and began their journey after Master Jiraiya gave Naruto a message about not getting too caught up in the Akatsuki and asking Kakashi and Masumi to watch over him.


	3. Chapter 3

Together Naruto, Sakura, Masumi, and Kakashi traveled through the trees. Naruto was pretty far ahead, but Masumi could still hear him say, "Gaara, we're coming…"

"Naruto! I know you're in a hurry, but don't disrupt the unit!" Sakura scolded.

"But!"

"Don't lose your cool. Master Jiraiya told you not to, remember?" Kakashi reminded him. Naruto growled a little bit at his sensei's words.

"For crying out loud," Sakura whined. Sakura then looked down to see someone she called Temari. The four of them stopped to speak with her. They quickly explained that Gaara was taken by the Akatsuki.

"What? Gaara was…?!" She exclaimed and Kakashi nodded to confirm what they said.

"It'll take about two and a half days to get to the Sand from here. Let's hurry," Kakashi said.

"Right," Temari agreed. They all began moving again with the intent to get to the Sand as fast as possible.

Soon even the sun set, and Naruto was showing no signs of stopping or slowing down for that matter. "Naruto!" Sakura yelled again. "I told you earlier not to disrupt the unit!"

"I don't like it!" He growled. "Even I know why they're after people like Gaara and me. You know it already don't you, Sakura? That I've got the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit sealed inside me." They were all quiet as Naruto grabbed his chest, "Gaara and I both… have monsters inside us… That's what they're after! That's what I don't like! They only see us as monsters! I don't like their selfish way of looking at us! Everything about us was the same. And he… fought all by himself a lot more than me. The Akatsuki were after him! It's just like me this time, too. And yet, why does he always have to be the one to get the short end of the stick?! It's always him! That's why I can't be wasting any time getting to him! This time, I want to save him right away!"

Masumi looked at Naruto's back and saw the tears that flew behind in just barely sparkle in the moonlight. Masumi then went and matched Naruto's pace. She jumped beside him and neither one of them looked at each other, they just raced ahead.

Morning soon came, and things seemed to be normal. Kakashi went and told Sakura she shouldn't be eating food pills and pissed her off.

Masumi ran forward very far ahead of the group as a look out while the others spoke behind her about Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha's older brother. Masumi left the Village for her mission not long after the Nine-Tails attack, but she knew much about the situation of Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha.

Not long after they took a short break. Masumi jumped onto a branch and closed her eyes, but expanded her hearing senses to listen even while she rested. Kakashi, Temari, and Sakura slept on the ground while Naruto stood up in the trees looking forward. As they awoke they watched Naruto as the sun began to rise.

"Okay, let's get going," Kakashi said gathering everyone together. Masumi jumped down and her tail flailed around a little bit and peeked out from her cape for a few moments.

"I'll take the lead again, be sure to give me some room so the noise doesn't overpower anything else I'm listening too." She sighed for a moment looking towards the direction they were traveling in before turning back to Kakashi. "Can I please take off the cape? It annoys my ears," she whined.

"Fine, give it to me," Kakashi said as he held out his hand. Masumi flung the cape off and stretched out her arms, tail, and ears. She smiled as Temari's jaw dropped as she stared at her ears.

"Alright, I'm off!" Masumi then turned and ran forward with lightning speed while the others were soon to follow.

Not long after the reached the edge of the desert. Once Masumi reached the edge she stopped and waited for the others.

"Alright! It's the desert!" Naruto exclaimed.

"The Village Hidden in the Sand is up ahead. I'll take the lead from here," Temari said calmly.

"We're counting on you," Kakashi said. And so they began to move ahead once again.

"And again with the stopping?" Masumi whined as a sandstorm picked up and they had to take cover. She was sitting while she sighed dramatically before falling over and landing her head on Kakashi's lap.

"You never were very patient," Kakashi whispered quietly.

"Here we're so close to the Village Hidden in the Sand, I just can't just sit around waiting!" Naruto growled.

"Naruto, I told you not to lose your patience," Kakashi said as he began petting Masumi's hair.

"But!"

"Be patient," Sakura said. "Right now, Temari is the one who's the most anxious."

"The ironclad rule is to stay right there if you encounter a sandstorm. You lose your sense of direction in a sandstorm. We often hear of people dying of dehydration after getting lost in the desert."

"Even I can't track in a sandstorm, the sand gets in my nose," Masumi pouted as she rubbed her nose thinking of the feeling. Kakashi pulled out Masumi's cape, and put it on her to help keep her warm.

"It'll be okay. A sandstorm around this time of year shouldn't last too long," Temari continued.

"Please let up soon," Naruto said as he looked at the entrance of the cave they had taken refuge in.

Once the sandstorm let up, Team Kakashi and Temari ran through the night to get to the Sand Village. just as the sun began to rise, they made it to the outer wall surrounding the Village. They noticed the ninja posted there and slowed down.

"So you were with them, Temari?" one of the two asked.

"Please, come this way!" The other said as he ushered them into the Village.

As they ran, the two ninja explained how Kankuro was also gravely wounded trying to get Gaara back on his own.

"What?! They got Kankuro, too?" Temari asked worriedly.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage was taken and Kankuro followed in pursuit. Kankuro was poisoned by the enemy and we don't know how to neutralize it. At this rate… he won't…" and the ninja dropped his sentence having got his point across that Kankuro was near to death.

"Let's hurry, Temari," Sakura said. "I'll take a look at him."

They soon reached Treatment Room 3 and ran in. "Kankuro!" Temari yelled out. Masumi stopped at the door when she saw Granny Chiyo and saw her glaring at Kakashi. She knew they recognized each other.

"You Jerk!" The old woman began to charge Kakashi.

"Huh?"

"Prepare yourself!"

Naruto was quick to counter her attack and blocked her punches and kicks with the help of a shadow clone. Everyone watched shocked. "What do you mean by suddenly pouncing on Kakashi sensei like that?!" Naruto growled with his shadow clone standing next to him. "You wrinkly old hag!" The other Naruto growled. The shadow clone poofed away as he glared at her.

"I'll never forget what you did back then, White Fang of the Leaf. I shall avenge my son's death by defeating you today!" She yelled.

"Er… no, you see… I'm," Kakashi said trying to explain.

"No questions or answers!" She growled. The other old man, Lord Ebizo, stepped in front of her and held up his hand.

"Big sister… take a look at him!" They both looked at Kakashi who was holding his hands up and laughing nervously. "He resembles him closely, but this is not the White Fang!"

"Huh?" She said as she looked closer.

"Um… hello," Kakashi greeted.

"Moreover, the White Fang of the Leaf died long ago. Remember?" Lord Ebizo said calming her down. "When you got the word of it, you cried tears of regret, since you could not avenge your son. Isn't that so, sis?"

"Gotcha, I was only pretending to have gone senile," she said before laughing.

A few moments later, Kankuro started spasming in pain and cried out. "Kankuro!"

Sakura stepped forward as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, "Let me have a look."

"Please do," Temari said as she watched.

"Kakashi sensei and the rest of you please stand back a bit," Sakura requested.

"Got it," Naruto said as they began to leave.

"Sakura, let me stay. I'll pay attention to his heartbeat while you work," Masumi said sitting on the other side of Kankuro. She pulled off her hood and closed her eyes as she listened.

"Thank you," Sakura said before getting started. Temari watched as Sakura began to examine him.

One of the ninjas tried to interrupt Sakura and Sumi. "I am a leaf medical ninja," she explained.

"Please stand back and be quiet," Masumi growled lightly. "Sakura, hurry. His heartbeat is is becoming more irregular with every 20 beats."

"Right," Sakura then continued.

Sakura spoke with the other medical ninjas and had them bring her some items so she could make an antidote. Masumi focused to the heartbeat and only allowed the heartbeat to enter her mind and hearing.

Once Sakura received all of the items, she put together something and had Masumi move to the foot of the bed to continue listening while the others held Kankuro down. As Sakura extracted the toxin, Masumi continued to listen.

After a few sessions of placing water into his system and pulling it out, Masumi's ears began to shake. "Sakura, hold it there and move very slowly. The toxin is strong there, be careful."

"Right," she responded as she continued slower.

Sakura and Masumi went on like that for a while. Masumi would tell Sakura the best speed to remove the toxin to have as little damage to the body. The slower pace might make it more painful, but it could also lower his recovery time if he survives.

It felt like hours for the process to finish, but finally it was done. "I directly extracted the toxin. With this, his life should no longer be in danger."

Naruto ran back in and everyone was amazed. "Way to go, Sakura!" Everyone was extremely relieved. "But we still can't rest easy. I will now concoct an antidote for the traces of toxin that remain in his body." Sakura continued to speak to the others as she asked for some medical herbs.

Meanwhile, Masumi hadn't opened her eyes yet and sweat drenched her forehead. Kakashi looked over to her. "Masumi?" he called out to her. Everyone became quiet. "Masumi!" Kakashi said with a little more force.

Masumi's breath became uneven. Her eyes began to look everywhere and no where as her eyes remained shut. Her ears began to shake and her tail fluffed up ten times its usual size. Her body tensed up and began to shake.

Kakashi went to her side and held onto her shoulders, "Sumi! Wake up! It's okay, wake up!" Masumi's breath quickened and her eyes jolted open.

She stood up immediately and started screaming. Kakashi picked Masumi up and held her as tight as he could so she wouldn't hurt herself. "I need a room that's completely isolated. Underground or made of rock walls," he said hurriedly. "Now."

"Yes, this way," Kakashi ran with one of the ninjas to an interrogation room with Sumi screaming in his arms. Her hands covered her ears as she flailed trying to get away from the sound.

Sakura and Naruto ran behind them. "Kakashi sensei, what's wrong with Masumi?" Sakura asked.

"I can't explain right now!"

"This room!" The ninja showed opening a huge metal door to a dark room with thick rock walls.

"No one can come in. Stay out of the room until I come out. Sakura I will need your help once she's better! Naruto stand outside this door. When I come out, run and get Sakura!" Kakashi ordered as he went into the room and the ninja shut the heavy metal door behind them.

Kakashi set Masumi down in the middle of the room and drew a circle around her body in the sand. He sat next to her flailing body and held out his arms above her body. His hands began to glow red and her necklace that was wrapped around her neck began to glow as well. Her body stiffened and her screams stopped.

She held completely still as her eyes looked off into the darkness above her. As the red glow got brighter, her eyes began to fill with the familiar red light as well.

Kakashi held his hands together, "Release and reseal." The red from her eyes went above her body and floated to her necklace. Her eyes closed slowly as her body relaxed.

Kakashi then held Masumi in his arms. "Masumi?" Masumi took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before her eyes slowly fluttered open. "There's my girl," Kakashi said with a smile as he relaxed.

"It happened again, didn't it?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Yeah, but it didn't last long. I was able to snap you out of it pretty quick."

"That's good," she smiled weakly.

"Rest now," Kakashi said brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Alright," she said closing her eyes again and letting her breath slow.

Kakashi placed his hand on her forehead and felt that it was way over her normal body temperature. He set her body on the floor before walking to the door and telling Naruto to get Sakura.

Naruto returned with Sakura minutes later as Kakashi waited outside the door. "Sakura, she has a fever and most likely extreme head pressure. For now, please just try and lower her temperature, it's dangerously high for her. I'll explain what happened later."

"Alright," Sakura said. She gathered a few supplies and went into the dark room.


	4. Chapter 4

"It is true that Masumi had incredible senses that she can focus and enhance, but if she focuses on her hearing for too long it can be dangerous. Her ears begin to take over and she senses get out of control. All of her energy goes to her ears and she can hear everything, all the way down to the chakra flowing in a person's body thousands of miles away from here. It become so intense, her body begins to fail, because it can't keep up with the information it's receiving. As far as anybody knows, this only happens when she focuses on hearing. She has trained many years with her other senses and it's made it easier for her to keep those under control. However, she lacks practice in controlling her sense of hearing,

"I cannot explain I how I can calm her down, but once I have her body acts as if she just has a fever. It's trying to burn away anything that it finds might be wrong in her system. Once the fever breaks, she wakes up and continues like nothing happened. Thank you, Sakura for taking care of her," Kakashi said as he bowed to his student. "I do not wish to lose another person, much less her."

"We understand," Sakura smiled.

"Talking about me behind my back, huh?" Masumi walked into the room Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto were in.

"Sumi," Kakashi smiled.

"Are you feeling better?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, thank you for taking care of me," Masumi smiled. "Now, I hear that you have a scent for me to follow," she said with a smirk.

Kakashi handed her the piece of cloth. She pinched it with two fingers and held it up to her nose. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths through her nose. She handed Kakashi back the cloth.

"Pakkun has already located the possible hideout, so make sure to keep us on track with the real scent."

"Alright, let's go," Masumi said as she lead the way outside.

Once outside Masumi sniffed the air a few times before her pupils became sharp pins. "Found it," she said as her eyes returned to normal.

"Alright," Kakashi said, "as soon as the Sand is ready, we'll join them for Gaara's rescue. Got it?"

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," Temari said with a few other Sand ninja with her.

"Temari!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Everyone's here," Kakashi said calmly.

Naruto started stretching out his limbs, "Alright! Then let's head out!"

"Wait!" Baki jumped down next to the group and turned to the Sand ninja. "Temari, you and the others stay here in the village and patrol the border."

"What do you mean by that?!" Temari asked.

"That's an order from… above," he explained. "Their reasoning is if it becomes widely known that the Kazekage is absent, there's no telling when other villages will attack the Sand."

"That's all the more reason we have to get Gaara back as soon as possible! These Leaf people came all this way for the very purpose of going to Gaara's aid! Gaara is our Kazekage, right?! What's the point if we, the Sand people, don't go to save him!" Temari argued.

"But…" Baki said.

"I'm going," a voice echoed from above them. Granny Chiyo stood on top of the Kazekage's building with a bag hung over her shoulder. "The only Sand Shinobi you need is me!" She yelled down to the others.

"Granny Chiyo!" Temari exclaimed.

"But that's…" Baki began to say something before Chiyo finished.

"I am already retired, you know. I can do whatever I like," she finished.

"You really shouldn't overdo it," one female Sand ninja said.

"Don't you dare treat me like an old woman!" Granny Chiyo scolded before she jumped down from the building.

"She jumped!" Naruto said before she landed in front of Kakashi and Masumi.

"I haven't doted on my dear grandchild for a while, after all," she said in a voice that creeped Masumi out a little bit.

With that they headed to the wall surrounding the Village. "Alright, we'll head out," Kakashi said.

"Sorry, I will try to convince the higher-ups," Baki said.

"We'll follow behind later, no matter what!" Temari exclaimed.

"Gaara will be long rescued by that time!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Goodbye," Sakura said with a little bow.

They all turned and ran off in the direction of Gaara.

They ran for a great deal of time before they reached the forest and then they continued through the trees. Masumi once again ran in front of the group as they once again spoke of the Tailed Beasts and the Akatsuki. Masumi had gathered most of the information Granny Chiyo had for Team Kakashi, so she ignored the conversation and focused on running.

At some point, Masumi stopped and waited for the others who caught up quickly.

"Masumi?" Naruto said.

"Kakashi, will you hold onto it for me?" Masumi asked not being clear as she looked ahead.

"Yes," Kakashi walked up to her side as she took off her cape and then faced him. "Everyone, step back," Kakashi commanded. Once they backed up, Kakashi gently grabbed Masumi's necklace and pulled it over her head. Once he had it off, he jumped back. A red smoke swirled around her feet and then rose up as it circled around her. Soon a vortex of red smoke surrounded her body. All at once the smoke burst outwards and disappeared. A huge wolf with the same deep dark chocolate hair as Masumi stood in front of them.

The wolf faced them growling. The wolf bent it's head back and released an echoing howl that filled the trees. When it looked back down, it was almost as if it was smirking. "Alright," Masumi's voice said spilling out of the wolf's mouth. "Let's go!" she barked.

They for a little while longer before Kakashi stopped everyone, "Everyone! Halt!" In front of them was Itachi Uchiha. Masumi's lip curled back as she growled sliding to a stop.

"Itachi Uchiha…" Naruto said.

"Itachi," Chiyo said. "Ah, so he is that brat who killed his entire clan."

"It's been a while, Kakashi, Naruto…. and you, Masumi," Itachi said in his monotone voice irritating Masumi.

"You bastard," Naruto said. "Not just me, but Gaara too!" Naruto pointed at Itachi, "I will destroy you guys!"

Itachi raised his arms and Kakashi stiffened, "Everyone! Don't look directly at his eyes! It's dangerous!" He turned to the wolf, "Masumi are you still able to block it?"

"Yes, it's not something I can turn off, Kakashi. The all seeing eyes of the wolf cannot be tricked by any Genjutsu." Masumi's wolf eyes made direct contact with Itachi. Her pupils became so thin they disappeared and her eyes began glowing red.

"Good. Everyone Masumi will be able to watch him. Trust her judgment."

"Understood," Naruto and Sakura said together.

"Itachi's Genjutsu is a Visual Jutsu. Therefore, it's a type where one gets caught by his sight. So it'll be okay as long as we don't make eye contact with him."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto said glancing at his sensei.

"But then, how should we fight him?" Sakura asked.

"Decipher his actions just by how he moves his body and feet," Kakashi explained.

"That seems pretty hard," Sakura admitted.

"The Uchiha clan, eh?" Lady Chiyo said. "It's been a while since I went up against a Sharingan. You don't have to be that surprised," she said to Naruto. "There are a few fighting techniques to counter this Visual Jutsu."

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

"If it's one against one, then you must flee. It's two against one, then take the back."

"Say what?" Naruto asked confused. Even Masumi turned her glowing red eyes on the old woman confused before looking back at Itachi.

"You know what "if it's one against one, then flee" means right?" Lady Chiyo asked. "There is no way you can win. But if it's two against one, even if one is caught by the Genjutsu, the other will take his back and hit him. Then the Genjutsu will cease. Even if it is impossible, if you hit your teammate, then you can end the Genjutsu. So if there is more than one of us, then one will distract him. The rest of us will constantly attack him from the back where the Sharingan can't see." Lady Chiyo explained.

Masumi let out a quick breath through her nose as she also bobbed her head signaling that she now understood.

"I see," Sakura said as well.

"Amazing, you know a lot from old age!" Naruto said. "Then I'll take his back-"

"Wait!" Kakashi interrupted.

"Kakashi sensei, what do you mean by 'wait'?!" Naruto asked aggressively.

"Do you want to say my way of fighting the Sharingan is wrong?" Lady Chiyo asked.

"That would work if it's an ordinary Genjutsu, but it's a bit more complicated in his case."

"What?" Lady Chiyo said confused.

"He uses Mangekyo Sharingan, which is a much stronger Visual Jutsu than an ordinary Sharingan. If you receive his Visual Jutsu then you will experience his Genjutsu in a second. In other words, even though it may seem like a second to others, the person who receives the Jutsu will feel it for hours or days. In my case, I roamed around in his Jutsu for three days, but lost consciousness for more than a week. It's not a matter of ending or not ending the Genjutsu," Kakashi explained.

"He's troublesome. Who exactly is this guy?" Lady Chiyo asked.

"Impressive Kakashi. It seems you didn't suffer my Tsukiyomi, Nightmare Realm, in vain," Itachi said in his irritatingly emotionless voice.

"That is not all that I know. After you used the Visual Jutsu, you were quite exhausted and you ended the battle immediately and tried to leave. In addition to using up quite a lot of chakra, it seems it comes with some risk to your "eye" as well, Itachi."

"From just one match, you have analyzed it quite well."

"Hey Itachi, your eyesight," Kakashi grabbed his headband and pulled it up. "How much has it weakened?" Kakashi opened his right eye revealing his Sharingan.

"Kakashi, could it be that you…?"

"I underestimated you back then. But I'm not that pathetic. It's not going to work the way it did before, you see," Kakashi said.

"It's a huge mistake if you think I'm the same as before!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, I'll deal with him," Kakashi said.

"You mean another non-fighting teamwork?"

"No. This time, cover me. To be honest, I want to be cool and say, "Go on ahead," but against him, even I can't contain him alone," Kakashi admitted.

"It's about time for you to come with me, Naruto."

"You know, that sounds really creepy, right?" Masumi's voice said gently.

"I'll go first!" Kakashi yelled before running forward. Itachi easily caught Kakashi's fist with one hand while another Itachi ran towards the others.

Naruto ran forward after with the Rasengan in his hand. He hit him right in the chest before his body poofed into smoke. Another shadow clone. When Naruto looked around, everyone was on the ground. As they slowly stood up, they transformed into Itachi. Even when Naruto turned to Kakashi and Masumi, they changed.

"What's going on?" He asked.


	5. Chapter 5

Masumi growled as she jumped in front of Naruto's body breaking Itachi's line of sight. "Sakura, Naruto is under the Genjutsu," Masumi said watching Itachi. Kakashi jumped forward and began his fight with Itachi. "If he can't snap himself out of it, you will need to give him some of your chakra. For now, I'll block you so he can't put you under a Genjutsu as well."

"Alright," Sakura said standing on one side of Naruto with Granny Chiyo on the other side.

Then in a quick moment he woke up. "You okay, Naruto?!" Kakashi asked worriedly.

"What happened to me…?" Naruto asked.

"You were caught in the Genjutsu," Sakura explained. Once Sakura had explained, Masumi jumped forward and landed next to Kakashi. "But you're okay now. We poured our Chakra in you and broke the Genjutsu."

"Where's his shadow clone?"

"Shadow clone?" Lady Chiyo inquired. "He's using no such thing."

"You suddenly started running and shot off your Rasengan with nothing around," Sakura said. "Don't you remember?"

"Then back then, I was already in the Genjutsu."

"This guy's using more than just a Visual Jutsu," Lady Chiyo said as the three of them watched Kakashi and Masumi's backs.

"Now, it's about time for the main event. Get it together, Naruto," Kakashi said.

Sakura tapped the side of Naruto's face with her hand, "Hey! Get a grip!"

"Naruto, I'll show you how it's done," Kakashi said while Naruto prepared himself and Masumi let out a wolfy chuckle next to him.

Kakashi and Masumi ran forward, and Itachi performed a few hand signs before saying "Fire style… Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Itachi spit out balls of fire and Masumi and Kakashi maneuvered around them with swift speed.

"They dodged it!" Sakura said.

"Just because this form is huge, doesn't mean I can't move fast!" Masumi slightly growled.

"Here comes the next attack," Kakashi warned.

"Fire style: Fireball jutsu!"

Kakashi gathered his chakra in his hand and the blue color began to glow as his hand began to hold bolts of lightning. He ran towards Itachi, "Lightning blade!" Itachi jumped up to dodge. Naruto appeared above him with his Rasengan in his hand and slammed it down into Itachi's chest.

When the smoke cleared, there was a crater in the ground and Itachi stood at it's side. "I see… He sure has learned an interesting jutsu," Itachi said. "However…"

Masumi jumped forward over the crater towards Itachi and opened her jaws releasing an ear piercing howl. It looked as if even the ear was shaking from the pure power of it. Itachi jumped backwards from her and she landed where he had once stood.

Naruto, Sakura, and Lady Chiyo hid in the trees. Masumi curled her tail in front of her and flung it back to it original position releasing sharp blades made of fur that flew towards Itachi. He easily dodged them and she growled. Masumi's nose twitched a little as she smelled the mist fill the forest.

"Don't worry! It's one of Kakashi's Jutsu," Lady Chiyo said to Sakura with Masumi listening.

"Then," Sakura started.

"More importantly, the mist is getting thicker. Don't avert your attention away from his presence.

"Right!"

Masumi looked around as the mist began to surround her and Itachi. "The Hidden Mist Jutsu," Itachi said recognizing it instantly. "It's indeed an effective jutsu for making it difficult to cast a Genjutsu. But it's meaningless against me, who possesses the Sharingan."

"And yet your Sharingan is useless against the eyes of the wolf," Masumi growled.

"Could we please stop this childish game of hide and seek, Kakashi?!" Itachi said with force. This irritated Masumi, but Kakashi stepped out from behind a tree regardless.

"I suppose we could," Kakashi said as Masumi crouched down allowing Kakashi's kunai to fly over her head towards Itachi.

Itachi dodged and performed his hand signs. "Fire style: Fireball jutsu!" Masumi jumped to the side as the fireball flew towards Kakashi and when it looked as if it had swallowed Kakashi up it exploded. The explosion sent Masumi into a tree. She turned her body while in the air and clawed her paws at the bark before pushing off the trunk clumsily. She landed on the ground and fell down before quickly standing back up again.

Masumi looked to where the end of the burn line of the Jutsu and found a hole in the ground where Kakashi most likely escaped through. Kakashi then jumped out of the ground in front of Itachi a threw a punch. Itachi grabbed his sleeve and used his other hand to throw a punch which Kakashi dodged.

Itachi grabbed the back of Kakashi's neck and sent him into a Genjutsu, but Masumi didn't worry. The Kakashi next to Itachi grabbed his arm, as the real Kakashi climbed out of the hole.

"No wonder my Genjutsu's having no effect. I noticed too late. This is a shadow clone," Itachi said as he watched Kakashi climb out.

"Take him out, my shadow clone and all, Naruto!" Kakashi yelled out.

"I know!" Naruto and his shadow clone said running towards the Uchiha. In Naruto's hand was an enlarged Rasengan, "Giant Rasengan!"

Masumi leaped forward and landed next to Kakashi, who grabbed onto her fur while she pulled him out. They all walked together to go see Itachi's body which had been flung back and smashed into the ground.

"Wh-what's this…?" Lady Chiyo asked.

"While we were fighting, I felt like something wasn't right," Kakashi said as they all stared down.

"What do you mean?!" Naruto asked as Masumi stepped forward and sniffed the body.

"It's one of their jutsu or something," Sakura said.

"He's…" Lady Chiyo started.

"Do you know him?" Masumi said turning her head to look at Granny Chiyo.

"Yes," she sighed. "It's Yura. He's a Jonin from our Village," she explained.

Everyone looked at her surprised. Masumi raised her head as her ears pointed towards the old woman.

"A Sand…?" Naruto started.

"What is this?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know either," Chiyo admitted. "But he went missing right around the time Gaara was taken."

"Could it be that he was a spy for the Akatsuki?" Sakura asked.

"I don't believe it. He served on the council for four years."

"The Fire Ball jutsu was created by the Uchiha clan and they use it a lot by preference. And that jutsu was the real thing," Kakashi said.

"Just as I thought. They were clearly stalling for time," Lady Chiyo said as she wrote something down.

"They've sure got a good jutsu," Kakashi said. Masumi leaned her head down and nudged Kakashi lightly before he lifted his hand and pet her head gently.

"Using a jutsu like this to stall us means they're undoubtedly already extracting the Tailed Beast from within Gaara," Lady Chiyo said as she finished writing.

Kakashi and Masumi nodded their heads. "We don't have time. We must save Gaara right away.

"Excuse me," Sakura said raising a hand. "What do you mean 'extract the Tailed Beast'?"

"It's likely that they're intention is to create a new Jinchuuriki using the One-Tail, Shukaku," Lady Chiyo explained.

"Jinchurriki?" Sakura said slightly confused. Kakashi and Masumi's eyes traveled to look at Naruto as his face held a serious look to it.

"I explained before how the Tailed Beast possess a power beyond human comprehension, didn't I? And how each land attempted to use them as military weapons. Jinchuuriki is what you might call the one who controls that power."

"But earlier you said 'The Tailed Beasts have immense chakra, and in the world of Ninja were used for military purposes by Hidden Villages around the world. They competed to get their hands on them. But none was able to control that power which had surpasses human intelligence.'"

"In the end, that is…. But in the past, there were those who attempted to control that power. They attempted to control the Tailed Beast by sealing it inside people. By doing so, they tried to suppress the extreme power of the Tail Beast and then control that power." Masumi watched as Naruto placed his hand on his lower chest. Masumi leaned her head down and pressed her muzzle lightly against Naruto's hand. "And the ones with the Tailed Beast sealed within them, in other words, people like Gaara were called the Jinchuuriki. The striking feature of the Jinchuuriki is how it utilizes unbelieveable power by resonating with the Tailed Beast. Including Gaara, there have been three Jinchuuriki in the history of the Sand." Once Lady Chiyo finished she dropped a school, performed a few hand signs and a toy like bird poofed into appearance. She picked it up and turned the crank a few times. It's beak opened and Granny Chiyo placed the other scroll she had finished writing on in its mouth. "I'm counting on you," she said before the little bird flew away.

It was quiet for a moment….

"So wars were fought often using the Jinchuuriki?" Sakura asked.

"That's right," Chiyo confirmed.

"Then, the people who've been turned into a Jinchuuriki…," Sakura dropped her sentence as she looked to Naruto. "How can the Tailed Beast be extracted?"

"What's required is a Sealing Jutsu with the ability to instantaneously balance the power of the Tailed Beast, in addition to plenty of time. But if that's done, the Jinchuuriki…."

"Don't tell me…" Sakura's eyes widened and became alarmed like Naruto.

Masumi's head lowered as she let out a soft whisper of a whine. "That's right. The Jinchuuriki that has his Tailed Beast extracted… dies," Lady Chiyo finishes.

"The Sand Jinchuuriki other than Gaara both had the Shukaku within them extracted and died as a result." Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes at Chiyo's words.

"You're sentimental as always, huh? Sakura," Naruto said. She looked up at him as tears fell down her face. "Don't worry. I'll be saving Gaara," Naruto said with a confident smile.

"I was concerned about your-"

"Let's hurry," Naruto interrupted her as he started to walk away. Masumi was the first to follow in his footsteps.

And so the journey began again. Naruto and Masumi traveled in the front. Masumi noticed his condition from below him on the ground. He must not be use to using his Giant Rasengan yet. Masumi then turned her attention back to running and avoiding trees.

They ran until the sun began to set and the sky was filled with colors.

"Stop," Kakashi ordered.

"What is it, Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked. Masumi stopped and spun around before trotting back towards the others.

"We're going to take a short break here," he explained.

"That's a wise decision," Granny Chiyo said.

Naruto ran forward to Kakashi, "Why?! You're the one who said we don't have time! If we waste time taking a break here, Gaara will be…!"

"Compared to right before we encountered the fake Itachi, our pace has clearly slowed."

"He's absolutely right," Sakura said.

"If we rest up here, ultimately we'll reach our destination faster," Kakashi said. "And tomorrow we might end up fighting the guys who took Gaara. It's best if we're at full strength."

"Fine," Naruto nodded understanding.

At this, Masumi laid down the a huge thud and stretched out her limbs before falling onto her side. Her rib cage rose and fell rhythmically as Kakashi went to her side and sat next to her back.

They made a fire and Sakura and Naruto went to sleep. Chiyo sat in front of the fire thinking while Masumi curled up, still in her wolf form, next to the fire keeping warm. Her eyes were closed, but she was wide awake. Masumi's tail dragged along the ground until covered her paws. Her eyes opened and she watched the flames.

"Now then. That should be enough rest," Kakashi said causing Masumi's ears to twitch. Kakashi jumped down and Masumi pushed herself up onto all fours. "Break time is over. We should get going," He said as he walked over to his teammates. Masumi walked behind Kakashi and looked at the others from behind him. Lady Chiyo nodded. "Wake up, you two. We're leaving," he called to the two teens.

"Okay," Sakura said as she sat up.

"A little longer…. Let me sleep a little longer," Naruto mumbled. Masumi jumped over the fire and landed next to him with a boom while she growled lightly.

"You're going to save Gaara, aren't you?" Kakashi asked. Naruto sat up quickly.

"Of course I am!" Masumi pushed her head into his head and barked.

Masumi then leapt around Naruto, the fire, and then Kakashi. She turned back to them and her tail wagged as her wolfish smirk pulled her lips up. She shook out her body and fur before turning her body to face the forest and looking back at them before taking off into the forest. They quickly packed and ran after her. A small howl was heard ahead of them.

"They no longer need to stall us," Kakashi said.

"I'm saying there's a good chance of that," Granny Chiyo said as she spoke with him.

"Don't tell me…" Sakura began.

From the ground, they heard an aggressive bark from Masumi below them. Naruto hurried his pace with Masumi below him.

"Why's that kid trying so hard to save Gaara who's from a different village?" Lady Chiyo asked. "And what in the world is he?"

"He's also a Jinchuuriki. He has the Nine-Tail sealed within him. Indeed, Naruto probably doesn't have much attachment to the Hidden Sand itself. But Gaara is a Jinchuuriki Host just like he is. More than anyone in the Hidden Sand, Naruto knows how it feels. After all, the Jinchuuriki has been treated the same way in every village. That's exactly why he feels like he has to save Gaara. It doesn't make any difference to him if he's from the Leaf or the Sand. For Naruto, Gaara is a friend who knows the same pain as he does. Naruto's dream is to become the Hokage. He was frustrated when he heard the Gaara had become the Kazekage. But at the same time, he was also very happy for Gaara from the bottom of his heart. Naruto has a mysterious power. However small the words he exchanges, he makes friends immediately with everyone he meets."

"I myself have lived a long life. I've seen many things. And in my own way, I've learned the nature of things in this world. Learning that the alliance with other lands were show only, what I did was to create resources to protect the Hidden Sand. I'm the one who used the jutsu and forced the possession of the Shukaku on Gaara. After consulting with his father the Fourth Kazekage, that is. What I did to protect the village ended up just hurting it. And now a village I avoided because I couldn't believe in alliances is trying to help us. Everything I've done might have been a mistake, and now I've gotten old and learned to give up easily. Kakashi, young people have so much potential within, I'm so envious."

"Oh no, you're just getting started. You're still young," Kakashi said making Lady Chiyo laugh.

"That's right. There might still be something an old bag like me can do."

As Masumi ran below the tree branches, she felt it. Her eyes widened and she made a wrong move and ran right into a tree letting out a pained snarl. She backed up and shook her head lightly. From above her, Naruto stopped and looked down at her. "Masumi? What's wrong?" The others then joined Naruto. Kakashi was the first to jump down to the ground. Masumi began to pace in circles and random movements. She lifted her nose to the sky as she move and inhaled in short breaths. She growled and released a strangled howl.

"Masumi. What's wrong!" Kakashi said somewhat aggressively gaining her attention.

Masumi faced him and loomed over him as she began to growl, "Somethings wrong. Gaara's presence, I can't tell what's wrong with it. We need to move faster!" She then turned and began to run faster than before.

"What?" Naruto said. They all quickened the pace.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're late… Kakashi," Guy said as he stood before the entrance to the Akatsuki hideout. "Nice to see you again, Masumi," he said with a thumbs up. Masumi rolled her eyes as she walked to the huge rock and looked it over. Neji, Lee, and Tenten looked at the creature with confusion.

"Well, you see, we got caught up in something troublesome along the way," Kakashi answered. The teenagers greeted one another and the two teams spoke their greetings.

"That's Masumi, she's another Leaf ninja," Guy explained to his team. "As you can see, she has the ability to transform into a wolf. Don't question it right now." Masumi growled turning her head back to glare daggers at the back of his head. "Now shall we do this, Kakashi?" Guy asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi responded. With that they all turned to look at the rock entrance while Masumi sniffed around the barrier. In the middle of the rock was a seal with the word 'Forbidden' written on it.

"It looks like there's a large cavern inside, but," the young Hyuuga said.

"But?" Lee chimed in.

"I can't really see clearly what's going on inside. It looks like there are several people inside."

"What about Gaara, Neji?" Naruto asked. "What's happening to Gaara?!"

"Wait. I'm searching right now!" He looked around for a moment.

"Neji!"

"Hold on!" He continued to look before saying, "What's that…?"

"What is it? Hey! What's in there, Neji?!" Naruto asked shaking Neji a little bit.

It seemed to slightly snap Neji back, "Let go of me."

Naruto backed up a bit as Sakura spoke up. "What was in there?"

"It's hard to explain in words," he responded.

"Which means…" Tenten started.

"Which means we just have to check it out directly for ourselves, right?" Lee said.

"That makes things simple," Guy said placing his hand on Lee's shoulder. Guy went and did a good amount of backflips before stopping and running forward to punch the rock. Waves seemed to spring out from where his fist was like ripples in the water. "A barrier, huh?" A drop of sweat ran down Masumi's face.

"What's the plan?" Lee asked.

"First, we have to remove the barrier, Lee," Guy explained.

"How do we do that?" Tenten asked.

"Guy, do you only teach your students to fight? Even Naruto was trained on how to break a Genjutsu," Masumi said rolling her eyes and her tail swished from side to side slightly annoyed.

Before they could say anything, Sakura interjected, "We need to figure out what kind of barrier it is, right?"

"Yeah," Guy said looking back to the wall. "Alright. First, we need to figure out what type of barrier this is! Isn't that right, Kakashi?

"Right."

"What does it look like to you?" Lady Chiyo asked.

"This is a Five-Seal Barrier."

"I agree."

"A Five-Seal Barrier?" Naruto asked.

"A Five-Seal Barrier is created by placing paper tags with "Forbidden written on them in five locations in the area. There's the Forbidden tag in front of us and four other tags in other locations," Kakashi explained.

"How can we remove them?" Guy asked.

"We can't remove the barrier unless we remove the tags in all five locations simultaneously."

"It must be done simultaneously, huh?" Sakura said.

"That's right," Kakashi confirmed. "The barrier can't be removed unless all five tags are removed at the same time. That's how it's been set up. That tag there…"

"And there are four others…" Guy said looking back up at the tag.

"Then, where are the other four tags?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi turned to look at Neji, "Neji?"

"Yes. I know," he concentrated his chakra and activated his Byakugan. After a moment, he spoke, "I found them!"

"Where are they, Neji? Naruto asked.

"There's one on a boulder about 500 meters northeast of here. The second one… is on the trunk of a tree growing along a riverbank 350 meters to the south-southeast. The third one is on a cliff about 650 meters to the northwest. And the last one is in a forest a little less than 800 meters to the southwest. Those are the four locations."

"If so, then they are pretty far away," Sakura said calmly. "What will the signal be then?"

"There's no problem there. At a distance, we should be able to use wireless radios," Guy said holding on up."

"Wireless radios, huh?" Naruto said.

"I see," Kakashi said.

Guy gave everyone a thumbs up and said, "Okay, we'll all stay in communication and find the tags with Neji's directions! We'll remove the tags in the four surrounding locations. If this is a competition of speed, our team will probably be faster, after all."

"We're counting on you!" Naruto said giving Guy a thumbs up.

"Alright, you head for the northwest forest, Lee!"

"Yes, Guy sensei!" Lee said while tightening his ninja headband to his forehead.

"I leave the northeast boulder to you, Neji."

"Roger."

"And you take the south-southeast, Tenten."

"Understood."

"I'll head for the northwest cliff. I'm sure that one will be in the location most difficult to remove."

"What's the frequency?" Kakashi asked.

"174," Guy answered.

"Roger."

Lee took a deep breath and said, "Can everyone hear me?" Masumi let out a screeching bark as she ran in a circle before crouching down and covering her ears with her paws and growled up at Lee.

"Lee! You've got your microphone turned up too high!" Tenten scolded.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He said into his mic creating the piercing noise as he bowed down at the waist.

Masumi's growls grew louder and she jumped up and growled and barked at him, snapping her chops as she did so.

"Lee… Lee!" Guy said pointing to the button to turn it down.

"Oh," He turned it down. "I'm sorry."

Tenten checked her mic, "My wireless radio settings are okay."

"Mine are okay as well," Neji said.

"Alright Team Guy," Guy said as he leaned forward holding his hand out. He hummed as he waited for his teammates.

"Right," Lee placed his hand over Guy's.

Guy then looked at Tenten who gave in and placed her hand over Lee's. "Hmm hmm!" Guy then looked at Neji. They had a staredown and then Guy sensei started going off. "HMMMMM! HhhhhMMMMM HM! HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" Finally Neji gave in and put his hand on Tenten's. Masumi looked at Kakashi with an annoyed look while Kakashi just laughed weakly. "With the full power of youth! Fight!"

"Yeah!" Lee cheered

"Fight!"

"Yeah!"

"Fight! Fight!"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"And an extra fight!"

"YEAAH!"

"Scatter!" And so they all jumped away and ran to their destinations.

"How cool. What cool enthusiasm! Hey guys, let's do that too!" Naruto said.

Masumi started growling and snapped at his outstretched hand. "I'd rather die," Sakura said as she crossed her arms. "I agree with Masumi."

"Right," Kakashi said.

"Masumi didn't say anything!"

"She didn't have to," Sakura said still looking away.

"You fool," Lady Chiyo said.

"Well, it's time for me to get going," Pakkun said. "There's no reason for me to be here if I'll just be in the way."

"Good work, Pakkun," Kakashi said as he waved.

"Okay, I'm off," and with that the tracker dog poofed away.

Masumi faced the barrier and took a stiff stance, ears perked up stiff and growled. "The energy in the cave has changed," Masumi said informing the others.

"Changed?" Naruto asked.

"That is all I can tell you," she said before sitting down.


	7. Chapter 7

Soon everyone was in position and Masumi watched Kakashi grab the corner of the Forbidden tag. "We're ready when you are," Kakashi said. "We'll break in using the Button Hook Entry.

"Right," Chiyo nodded.

"I know," Naruto said.

"Yeah!" Sakura said ready to punch the boulder.

Masumi barked in agreement as she stood behind Sakura. Once the boulder was out of the way, Masumi would be the first to enter.

"Alright, everyone!" Guy said over the radio. "Remove the tags on the count of three! Here we go! One. Two. Three!"

Masumi watched Kakashi rip the tag off, "Sakura!"

"Right!" she said as she ran forward with Masumi running behind her.

Once the boulder broke into pieces, Masumi jumped through an opening. When the pieces finished falling, the others came in after Masumi.

There they saw Masumi growling and foaming at the mouth while looking at one Akatsuki member sitting on Gaara's body and the other standing nearby. "Now, which one's the Jinchuuriki?" The blonde one asked. Naruto became furious! His teeth grew sharper and his eyes turned red while the pupils turned to slits.

"You creeps! I'll kill the both of you!" He yelled. "You jerk! Where do you think you're sitting?!"

"No doubt about it. He's the Jinchuuriki. "The first one to yell and scream at you," huh?" The blonde one said. "Itachi's pretty good at describing people."

"GAARA!" Naruto yelled. "What're you doing sleeping leisurely in a place like that?! Stand up! Gaara! Hey, Gaara! Are you listening?! Knock it off!"

"That's enough Naruto!" Kakashi said. "You should know."

"That's right. You know, don't you? That he's already long dead," Deidara said. To prove his point, he tapped Gaara's face with the back of his hand a few times.

"Give him back," Naruto growled. "Give Gaara back, you jerks!" Naruto yelled as he began to run forward.

Masumi dashed back and blocked Naruto's way with her massive body. "Calm down, Naruto," she said. "I don't like this as much as you do."

"If you charge ahead without thinking, we'll be annihilated," Kakashi explained.

Team Kakashi watched the Akatsuki members closely.

"What is it, Sasori?" Deidara asked.

"I'll take him," Sasori said. "It seems that the Jinchuuriki wants to take him back, so…."

"It seems so," Deidara agreed. "Sasori, you'll probably get mad if I say this, but I'll take care of that Jinchuuriki." A malevolent smile grew across his features.

"Our mission is one Jinchuuriki each. Don't be getting all full of yourself, Deidara."

"An artist's passion starts to dull unless they seek greater stimulation, Sasori. The rumor is the Nine-Tailed Jinchuuriki is quite powerful. He's an opponent suitable for my art."

"What? You're calling those explosions of your's art? Art is something that beautifully remains extensively into the distant future. Eternal beauty is art!" Sasori of the Red Sand argued.

"Eternal beauty… is art?" Deidara said. "I do respect you as a fellow craftsman, Sasori. But art is a fleeting moment of beauty that vanishes gloriously."

"They are… fighting about art?" Masumi asked herself, looking back at Kakashi for a moment.

"What did you say…?" Sasori said to Deidara. "Deidara, it seems you don't understand what true art is."

"You're the one who doesn't understand."

"You jerks," Naruto growled lightly.

"No! Eternal beauty is true art."

"Don't be a fool. Art is an instant of beauty."

"Knock it off!" Naruto yelled as he pulled out a scroll and summoned a large shuriken, and jumped up over Masumi's body to threw it at Sasori. The shuriken flew towards Sasori, but a metal tail came out of nowhere and blocked it.

"Do you want to make me angry?"

"I just told you, it would probably make you angry, didn't I?" And they kept going.

"You know what happens when I get angry, don't you?" Sasori growled. "Don't you, Deidara?"

Deidara then slowly stood up and off of Gaara. "Art to me is a…" he paused for a moment to look down at his hand, "explosiveness itself!" He threw something white into the air and then a cloud of smoke filled the cave for a moment. A strange large white bird then appeared in front of everyone and landed next to the blonde ninja. "It's a far cry from your silly puppet shows!" The bird picked up Gaara's body. Sasori's metal tail shot towards Deidara, but he jumped up as his bird flew up higher. Deidara landed on top of the bird, "See you around, Sasori." The bird then seemed to half swallow Gaara's body only leaving part of his legs out of it's mouth. Deidara then flew out of the cave with Naruto running after him.

"Naruto!" Masumi and Kakashi yelled out as they ran out after him. Masumi kept running when Kakashi gave Sakura orders to stay and fight Sasori with Lady Chiyo. The three of them watched Deidara fly above them from on top of the gate in front of the dark cave while Kakashi radioed Guy for back up, only to find out that they were all caught up in a trap.

"GIVE GAARA BACK!" Naruto yelled up at Deidara.

"Looks like, I can't be wasting my time." Kakashi pulled up his headband and opened his Sharingan eye.

"Is it okay for you to be taking me on?" Deidara asked as he stood open the strange white bird. "Kakashi sensei of the Sharingan, I hate to say this, but… Sasori is stronger than I am probably. Our ideas of art are quite different, though."

"We noticed," Masumi grumbled as she stood along the round thin gate top. She had to stand with her body parallel to the gate's shape while her head faced Deidara. Her long fluffy tail swayed back and forth in the wind as she watched Deidara her lip curled back in a silent growl.

"It looks like they've started," Deidara said as he looked past them towards the cave. Kakashi and Naruto also looked back. "Is just that little girl and that old bag really up to the task of taking on Sasori?"

Masumi and Kakashi were both thinking the relatively same thoughts, Deidara wants a one-on-one fight with Naruto, but he defeated the Kazekage. It would be dangerous. "Go to Sakura, sensei, Masumi." Both Kakashi and Masumi looked at him surprised. "I'll save Gaara!" He yelled as he jumped into the air towards Deidara. Masumi's ears perked up and were alert as her eyes widened and she watched for a moment. Deidara guided his bird to move and Naruto ran into the cliff.

Deidara then threw another one of his birds towards Naruto, but Kakashi leapt forward and landed on the cliff before throwing a kunai at the bird sending it backwards a little bit. Deidara then made the bird explode. From within the smoke a kunai flew out and Kakashi easily deflected it. "It wouldn't be worthwhile if you were beaten that easily," Deidara said before Naruto popped back out of the cliff.

Masumi took her chance when he wasn't paying attention and jumped. Her front paws barely even scratched the side of the bird as Deidara dodged. She growled as she started to fall, but then she jumped in midair as if she had landed on something invisible that was floating in the air. She then slide and landed on the cliff side.

"I won't let you have Gaara no matter what!" Naruto growled. "I'm taking Gaara back!"

"You're sure a weird Jinchuuriki. I'd heard that Jinchuuriki were gloomy misanthropes. Not counting this guy, my comrades have defeated two Jinchuuriki. It seems not even one comrade or villager attempted to him them. In fact, it seems there were actually some people who were glad. Haha," Deidara laughed. "So you couldn't forsake someone pitiful and hated like you? Gaara died after the One-Tail was extracted. That will soon happen to you too!"

"I won't let that happen!" Masumi growled. Masumi jumped at him with such force the rocks under her paws broke. Her speed was incredible and she landed on the bird. She balanced herself as Deidara tried to throw her off. She dodged her kunai as she backed up towards the bird's head. She couldn't find an opening to move forward. Soon she was able step a few steps forward and claw at his chest before he backed her up even more steps until the bird threw her off and into the cliff.

She hit the cliff with a thud and a whine of pure pain. She clawed onto the wall, but was unable to hold on as she slipped downwards unable to concentrate after hitting her head. She fell backwards in a weird position as she fell towards the water.

"Masumi!" Kakashi yelled snapping her out of it as he watched her with horror. Her eyes snapped open as they turned a glowing red. She once again landed on nothing but air and jumped straight up slamming into the bird from below. After being hit, Deidara had the bird fly up higher. Masumi then dropped down and landed on the water watching him from above. Naruto and Kakashi jumped down as well to stand with her.

"Damn it," Naruto mumbled to himself. "You! Return Gaara to us!" Naruto once again yelled.

"It's only a matter of time before Sasori does away with the group inside," Deidara said as the bird finished swallowing Gaara. Deidara then began to fly off.

"You jerk! I won't let you get away," he began to run after him. "Hold it right there!"

"Naruto, wait a minute!" Kakashi yelled holding out his hand in front of him.

"Kakashi sensei, Masumi, go look after Sakura and Granny Chiyo!"

"Good grief," Kakashi growled.

"You don't order me around!" Masumi growled as she ran after him. Kakashi glanced back once at the cave before reluctantly running after the two.

As they ran, Kakashi radioed Guy again, "Guy, how are conditions over there?"

Yelling and the sound of heavy breathing filled the mic, "Sorry Kakashi, it looks like things will still take a while over here."

In front of them, trees lined the river's cliffs from one side to the other just like steps. Naruto was the first to jump up onto them, followed by a much faster Masumi who reached the top first with Kakashi behind them.

"There's no way I'm going to let you get away!" Naruto yelled.

"They're coming, aren't they?" Masumi heard Deidara say from above them as she ran and leapt after him. "Better keep up! And then I will settle matters properly."

"Hold it right there!" Naruto yelled. Deidara turned around a threw three small birds before giving them chakra and making the bigger. One flew at Naruto and is exploded close enough to him to send him fly off a bit.

"Naruto!" Masumi and Kakashi yelled. Masumi turned around as she watched Kakashi throw a kunai and hit one causing it to explode. Meanwhile, the last bird flew towards Masumi who dodged it. It then flew towards Kakashi and exploded creating a big puff of smoke.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto yelled. Masumi sniffed the air and calmed her nerves as Kakashi jumped out of the grey cloud.

"You jerk… wait!" Naruto yelled running off again.

"Naruto, wait!" Kakashi yelled. Masumi stopped somewhat scratching the tree she jumped onto as her paws slipped. Naruto ran past her and she only began running again when Kakashi caught up to her.

As they ran, Deidara sent two more tiny bombs to try and separate Masumi and Kakashi from Naruto.

"Masumi, you're faster than me, stay next to Naruto's side as best you can," Kakashi ordered. Masumi nodded her head and in a burst of speed she quickly caught up to Naruto's side.

"Naruto, stay close to me, even if you decide to run faster. Understand?" she growled.

"Yes, Masumi-sama," he said glancing at her, their red eyes meeting for a moment before the looked forward once again and continued leaping from one tree to the next.

Masumi's ears pointed behind her as she heard extremely loud crashes from where Sakura and Lady Chiyo were. "Kakashi, I don't know exactly what's going on, but the cave Sakura and Lady Chiyo are fighting at just collapsed. I think Sakura made it collapse," Masumi informed Kakashi.

"Kakashi sensei! You're too slow!" Naruto yelled. "We'll lose sight of him if we don't get a move on."

"It'll be okay," Kakashi insisted. "His next target is you, Naruto. He won't run off so far that he shakes us off completely."

"Then hurry up and tell me how to stop him!"

"Don't worry. I've got several strategies in mind. I'll need a little bit of time to prepare for that!"

"I can't wait around for that. I want to save Gaara right away!" The three continued to run when Deidara sped up even faster. "Damn it! Hold it!" Naruto yelled once again as he sped up. Masumi hurried her pace even faster.

"Naruto! Slow down!" Kakashi yelled.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi," Masumi mumbled. "I can't lose track of Naruto to stay with you," she whispered as she glanced back at his disappearing figure. Masumi looked up at Deidara's figure and glared. She couldn't allow him to separate them in the least.

Masumi's ears perked up as her eyes caught notice of small creatures fall from Deidara's bird. From behind her, she felt and heard the explosion. "Kakashi!" Masumi yelled stopping and turning around. He tried to run and jump past them, but the creatures were built for speed.

"Naruto! Hold on!" Kakashi yelled.

"You're too slow, Kakashi sensei. I'm going on ahead!" Masumi stopped for a moment unsure of what to do. Should she stay with Kakashi or should she stay with Naruto?

"Don't do anything reckless on your own!" Kakashi scolded.

"Yeah, I know!" Naruto yelled running off.

"Masumi, go with Naruto!"

"What?! I can't leave you! You aren't fast enough to outrun those things!" Masumi growled allowing Naruto to run even farther ahead.

"Masumi! Go after Naruto!" He yelled. Her ears pinned back to her head as she whimpered before turning and chasing after Naruto. Not but a minute after heard an in sync explosion and she stopped.

"Kakashi!" She yelled out. She stood there for a moment scanning the area. Kakashi flashed next to her and she smiled before taking off with him as fast as they could.

"Give Gaara back!" Naruto yelled and prepared to jump at Deidara.

Kakashi and Masumi flashed next to Naruto. Kakashi grabbed his shoulder. "Hold it."

"Kakashi sensei. Masumi-sama."

"Oh man, and I was totally convinced that you'd died," Deidara said floating above them.

"Sorry, it wasn't the real me that blew up. Next time, you'd better figure out how to get them to tell the difference between a real body and a shadow clone. If there's a next time, that is." Deidara once again flew up into the air.

"Hold it!" Naruto yelled.

"That goes for you too," Kakashi said gripping Naruto's shoulder. "It's okay. We'll definitely get Gaara back. So calm down. Listen up Naruto, you're not accustomed to that kind of enemy. Not only that, but he's a long-range type, the worst match for someone like you; who specializes in close-range battle. There are only two ways to defeat a long-distance user. One is to draw the enemy into a close-range fight and defeat them. The other is to outdo the enemy with a long-distance attack and defeat them."

"But how do we do that?" Naruto asked.

"No matter which method you use, your unit needs either a comrade who specializes in long-range attacks or one who can use support ninjutsu for long-range battles. In the event of having neither, it's impossible to defeat the enemy. Well, it'd be different if you were as smart as Shikamaru, though."

"Stop beating around the bush! If that's the case, then what about you Kakashi sensei? Or Masumi-sama?"

"Oh… me, huh? A Jonin who's as smart as Shikamaru and possesses support ninjutsu for long-range battles."

"Then we've got what we need!"

"That's why I told you to calm down," Kakashi told Naruto.

"Then we should get right to it!"

"It won't work out that easily. He won't leave himself open if we just chase him around. He infiltrated the Hidden Sand by himself and defeated Gaara, and most important… he's a member of the Akatsuki. Then what do we do? All we can do is create an opening from our end. Together," Kakashi said as they all looked up to see deidara start to fly off again. "If you were able to catch on to what I said, then lend me your ear. I'll tell you the plan."

Once Kakashi explained the plan, they set off again. Once Naruto confirmed he understood, Kakashi and Masumi concentrated their chakra. They continued to run for a while before Naruto asked if they were ready.

"Hold your horses, I don't have as much chakra as you, after all," Kakashi said still concentrating. "It's going to take time."

"Masumi-sama?" Naruto asked.

"Almost, Naruto. I still need a few more minutes," Masumi said as she inhaled deeply a few times. As she concentrated she heard another huge explosion, her ears pointed backwards to listen more before she inhaled and gasped at the same time. "Kakashi, I can smell Sakura's blood, and a good amount of it," she informed.

"What?" Kakashi said opening his eyes and looking at her. "Masumi, go back to them immediately!"

"Understood," Masumi leaped forward and landed on another branch before shooting off of it and heading back with amazing speed. Her body flashed from one branch to the next, her body invisible as she flew through the air.

"I hit a vital region. She'll soon be dead even without poison. She's lost too much blood. Since you're also a medical ninja, I aimed for a spot you can't easily heal." Sasori said as Masumi appeared in front of the collapsed cave. She flash stepped next to Lady Chiyo and Sakura.

"Sakura," Masumi said laying down next to her.

"I've already finished first-air treatment with medical ninjutsu. What I'm doing right now isn't medical ninjutsu," Lady Chiyo informed. "I'm giving her my own life energy."

"Lady Chiyo!"

"Don't tell me…" Sasori began.

"It's a reanimation ninjutsu!"

"A reanimation ninjutsu," Sasori mumbled. Masumi sat up and placed her head against Sakura's back. Masumi closed her eyes for a moment before reopening them. Her eyes were now glowing an earth green as she herself sent Sakura healing chakra to help take some of the burden off of Granny Chiyo.

"It's a jutsu I spent years creating originally for you, one only I can use," Chiyo said as Sakura's eyes began to flutter open. "With this jutsu, life can even be breathed into puppets. For the life of the caster that is. But in hindsight, it's a dream that won't be realized."

Sakura watched Lady chiyo as Sasori stood thinking. "How stupid," he said. "When did you grow senile, Grandma?"

Masumi felt sakura begin to get up and pulled her head back. "Sakura, are you okay?" Lady Chiyo asked.

"Yes," Sakura answered. "What about you, Granny Chiyo?"

"That's strange. I thought the caster of that reanimation ninjutsu, or whatever, was supposed to die in exchange for breathing life into someone dead," Sasori said.

"Sakura's wound was severe, but she wasn't dead. So I got off without serious injury."

"That's unfortunate," Sasori smirked. Sakura quickly stood up and punched him in the face. "I'd stop that. This body doesn't even feel pain," he said, but Sakura just glared at him with all she had as she breathed heavily. "The more you hit me, the greater the pain in your fist. "Women sure like to do stuff that's pointless. I won't feel anything even if my blood-related grandmother should die. My heart is just like this body. Up until now I've killed hundreds, thousands of people." Sakura and Masumi shook with anger as they listened to him. Masumi stood up and arched her back as her lip drew back in a silent growl. "She'd be the same as one of them. Things are simpler that way."

"Just what do you think a person's life is to you?!" Sakura yelled. "What do you think a relative is to you?!"

"Come on… is that what a shinobi should be saying?"

Sakura gasped, "Why? Why can you only think like that?

"Sakura… that's enough," Lady Chiyo said in a weak voice.

"But…!"

"It was the evil customs and teachings of the Hidden Sand Village that made him what he is."

"Granny Chiyo."

"Do you want to have a body like this?" Sasori asked. "If you did, you'd probably somewhat understand what I'm talking about. This body won't decay and it's not bound to a span of life. A puppet can be recreated over and over again. I can create as many people as I want with puppets. If you want, that is.… It's not just about increasing the amount. A collection is all about quality."

"What the hell are you?!" Sakura growled.

"I'd venture to say I'm a human who couldn't completely become a puppet. I'm a puppet but an incomplete puppet possessing a living core. I'm not a person, nor am I a puppet. I'll soon stop moving. Before that, I think I'll do something pointless…. It's your reward for defeating me. you wanted to know about Orochimaru, right?" Masumi's eyes looked at Sakura as she gasped. "At midday in ten days, go to the tenchi Bridge located in the Village Hidden in the Grass."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"I've got a spy working as one of orochimaru's subordinates. I was supposed to rendezvous... with him… there…." He said his puppet body clicking a few times before his weak voice faded away. Masumi allowed her muscles to relax.

"It's over, Granny Chiyo," Sakura said as she turned to the old woman. "Excellent work." Masumi watched as the broken woman looked at the three puppets now lying "dead" on the ground.

"No. I was the one who should've been defeated."

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Sasori read my final attack. but for some reason, he didn't dodge it. A slight opening was revealed."

"Could it be that he…?" Sakura started. The three women watched over Sasori's puppet body for a few minutes.

"So, Masumi, why are you here?" Sakura asked.

"I scented your blood Sakura, and Kakashi sent me back to help you. Sakura come here," Masumi said as she sat down. Sakura stood in front of Masumi's body that, even when she was sitting, reached above her. Masumi tilted her head down and rested her forehead against Sakura's. "Hold still," she commanded. Sakura watched as Masumi closed her eyes for a moment before opening them to reveal her glowing green eyes. Sakura was a little startled, having not seen it earlier, but held still. Sakura could feel her energy returning as Masumi looked to freeze completely, even her breathing seemed to pause.

Once Masumi was done, she pulled away and her eyes dimmed back to their original color. Sakura then made her way to the entrance of the collapsed cave. Behind them Lady Chiyo fell to her knees. Masumi looked back, "Lady Chiyo!" She jumped over to her side with Sakura right behind her.

"Granny Chiyo!" Sakura pulled off her glove and held Lady Chiyo's arm. "I'll heal you now." Masumi figured out that the antidotes Sakura made were probably both used. "Let's head back to the village," Sakura said. "I'll make another antidote immediately."

"No," Granny Chiyo mumbled in a weak and pained voice.

"Why? We've finished what we were supposed to do. We need to return to the village and neutralize the poison immediately."

Lady Chiyo breathed heavily, "More importantly, I've still got something I must do."

Masumi looked to the sky and leaped to the top of the collapsed cave's cliff. She tilted her head back and released a howl that lasted ten seconds long. In the far distance, Kakashi looked back, hearing her howl and counting how long it lasted.

"Masumi, Sakura, and Lady Chiyo should be alright for the time being, Naruto."

"How do you know, Kakashi sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I've spent many years with Masumi, and I know what her different howls mean. By the length of the howl, the different pitches in her howls, and so forth. That's just how's it's been after she taught me how to read her howls," Kakashi explained.

Masumi then listened for a moment before she heard a five second long whistle. She smiled a toothy grin and her tails swished back and forth a little lazily. Masumi then jumped down and landed next to Sakura and Lady Chiyo.

"What was that Masumi-sama?" Sakura asked.

"It's how Kakashi and I communicate," Masumi explained. "I'm glad he remembered even after all these years," she said wagging her tail a bit and smiling in her wolf form. "Alright, let's go after Kakashi and Naruto."

"Right!" Sakura said.

The three women set off. Masumi was running in the front with Sakura behind her and Lady Chiyo in the back. Once they reached the branches, Lady Chiyo jumped up but began to fall back. Sakura quickly ran over to her and caught her hand before she could fall. "Granny Chiyo!" Sakura said as she pulled her up on the thick branch. She breathed heavily as Sakura rested her hand on her back.

"Maybe it would be easier if you both rode on my back," Masumi suggested.

"I'm sorry," Lady Chiyo said as Sakura helped her stand and Masumi laid down allowing Lady Chiyo to get on her back first before Sakura jumped on.

"Hold on tight and rest for now," Masumi said as she stood up, bent down, and jumped forward with incredible speed and strength. "We need to catch up as quickly as we can, this will be faster," Masumi said as she increased her speed to flash stepping from one branch to another twenty ahead of them. '_Don't worry, Kakashi. I'm on my way,' _Masumi thought to herself willing her body to go faster.


End file.
